


This path we follow

by OaXs



Category: DCU (Comics), Green Lantern - All Media Types, Justice League - All Media Types, The Flash - All Media Types, Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Barry Allen Needs a Hug, Break Up, Bruce is Bruce, Hal Has Issues, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Minor Character Death, Oliver is a good friend, Wally just wants his uncles to kiss and make up, one of them is his love for Barry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:28:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23647738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OaXs/pseuds/OaXs
Summary: Relationships were hard. Throw in superpowers, aliens threatening to destroy the world and two people who had the combined emotional maturity of a teenager... Well, Barry and Hal's relationship was doomed before it began.
Relationships: Barry Allen & Hal Jordan, Barry Allen & Wally West, Barry Allen/Hal Jordan, Hal Jordan & Oliver Queen, Roy Harper & Hal Jordan
Comments: 41
Kudos: 56





	1. As the light fades, won't you stay?

It had been a quiet evening when Hal was summoned by the Guardians.

The call-out hadn't sounded too serious. Just a few minor disturbances at one of the Corps' containment facilities which warranted an increase in patrols and a stronger Lantern presence to quiet things down again. Hal had given Barry one of his signature smirks, telling him to 'keep the bed warm' and that he'd be home within the week. One heated kiss and a flirtatious wink later, Hal had disappeared.

That was six days ago, and under any normal circumstances, Barry wouldn't have felt so wildly desperate for the Lantern to return within his given timeframe. 

Under any normal circumstances, Barry wouldn't have been on the phone to a distraught Jim Jordan at 8 am who was frantically trying to get a hold of Hal. Jim Jordan, who needed his older brother, and who no longer had another to turn to because... Jack Jordan was dead.

To say Barry was shocked was an understatement. He'd pulled himself together though and told Jim that Hal wasn't home but should be back by the next day. Barry had promised he would have Hal call Jim soon.

It was now past 6 pm, and Barry had already used all his contacts to try and get in touch with Hal. Nothing had worked, which meant Hal was in deep space, outside of the League's communications range. This left the speedster with nothing to do and an excess of restless energy that had built up since his phone call with Jim this morning. 

Barry ran a lap of the planet to try and burn off some of his pent up stress. Still, wrapping himself in the speed force couldn't stop Barry's thoughts whirling, eventually settling on Hal's mother's death and the impact it had on the Lantern. She had passed away two years ago, and while they may have only been dating for the last ten months, Barry had still been there when his best friend struggled to deal with the loss of his mother. Something the speedster was all too familiar with.

From the beginning of their friendship, Barry had known that Hal's relationship with his family was extremely rocky at the best of times. After Hal had joined the US Air Force at 18, Jessica Jordan had cut all ties with her son for the next four years. As a result, whenever Hal wasn't on deployment, he was at Ferris Air, following in his father's footsteps and test piloting experimental aircraft. During this time Hal also had a violently unpredictable relationship with his childhood sweetheart, Carol Ferris. However, things were looking to steady out with both Carol and his family after Hal left USAF at 22. 

Then, shortly after becoming a full-time test pilot, Hal had met a dying Abin Sur, and so began his journey to becoming the Green Lantern. Hal's relationship with his family and Carol deteriorated once more. It wasn't long after this that the Flash and Earth's Green Lantern became steadfast friends, with Hal revealing his secret identity after only their second team-up. 

So, when his best friend had phoned Barry in the middle of the night, unable to mutter anything other than, 'she's sick, Bear', the speedster had dropped everything to see Hal.

Barry had hoped, _believed_ , that the loss of their mother would pull the Jordan brothers together. The speedster was gravely mistaken. If anything, it drove them further away, with Jim not wanting to argue with either of them and Jack and Hal getting into an explosive fight shortly after Jessica's funeral. 

Any time Jack and Hal had been in the same room since had only ever ended poorly, but now he was gone... Well, it was too late for Hal to change the past, but Jack had still been a part of Hal's family. 

He just needed the Lantern to come home.

* * *

Barry was exhausted.

It had been over two weeks since Hal had left to deal with a few 'minor' disturbances and exactly seven days since Jack Jordan had been buried. Hal missed the funeral and Barry couldn't bring himself to do more than linger just outside of sight as they placed the coffin into the ground. After all, he wasn't really family.

Jim had held out for two days with no sign of Hal before accepting that his brother wouldn't be coming and planned the funeral without him.

Every day since Jack's passing, Barry woke with a cold dread that Hal would return and the speedster would need to break the news of his brother's death. It conflicted with his want to have Hal come home safe and sound, leaving his emotions strained under constant turmoil.

Barry stared at the alarm clock next to his bed, October 10th. Still no sign of the Lantern. "Where are you, Hal?"

Barry collapsed back onto his bed but found that sleep didn't come, he was too stressed to quiet his mind enough to drift off. With a groan, he shoved a pillow over his head, focussing on the blackness that now filled his vision. The sensory deprivation seemed to be working as Barry was almost on the cusp of sleep when his League communicator flickered into life.

The speedster was suited up and had the comm unit in within seconds, "Flash here, go ahead."

There was a small burst of static before a familiar voice floated over the line, "It's Cyborg. My sensors have picked up an anomaly near Jupiter, and it's heading our way. I'd put a pretty big bet on it being our Lantern."

"Thanks for the heads up, Vic." Barry replied, suddenly filled with nervous energy. 

A small and selfish part of him wanted the Flash to take over his responsibility as the bringer of bad news. His superhero alter-ego was much better at carrying the weight of world than forensic-scientist Barry Allen. But it was Hal Jordan, not Green Lantern, who needed him. So the speedster quickly switched out his Flash suit for some civilian clothes and waited for Hal on the sofa in his living room.

When a bright green glow lit up the back garden like a bad 90's cartoon portrayal of nuclear fallout, the speedster knew Hal was home. Barry bit back the automatic chide about maintaining secret identities as the Lantern, still in his Corps uniform, slipped through the back door.

"Hey Bear, listen I don't have -" Hal began, but Barry had spent so much time holding onto the burden of his knowledge that he couldn't wait any longer.

"Hal, there's been an accident." The speedster let the gravity of the situation seep into his voice, keeping it low and solemn. His words cut through Hal's rambling like butter.

Immediately, Hal knows when Barry says accident, it's not the 'laid up in a hospital bed', but 'laid six feet underground' type. The Lantern's voice is firm as he asks the question that his best friend dreaded answering, "Who?"

"I'm sorry Hal, it's -" As Barry finally releases the truth that's been weighing on his shoulders for weeks, his strength seems to wane, his voice growing weak and faint as the name spills over his lips. "Jack..."

"Oh. How - what happened?" The Lantern eventually asks after soaking in the fact that the 'one and only' Jack Jordan was no longer with them.

"He was driving to work, there was a collision, and he didn't make it." Barry answered, wishing the other man would dismiss his mask so he could read Hal's emotions easier. "The crash was on the thirtieth, and he was buried on the third. Jim wanted to wait for you, but..."

Hal gave a dark chuckle, "It's fine, the bastard wouldn't have wanted me at his funeral anyway."

Out of all the scenarios of how this moment would play out, Barry hadn't bet on this being Hal's reaction. 

"Hal!" The exclamation is a kneejerk response because Hal was a Green Lantern, a hero, he valued life. Barry couldn't believe that the man he loved would be capable of such cold callousness, especially towards his own family.

"Come on Bar, that's just a fact. He hated my guts, and even in death, he would've been cursing my name." Hal replied, his words drenched in bitter animosity.

Barry tried to rationalise that Hal was just hurting and lashing out. To the speedster, family was everything, and on that, his morals were unshakable. "He's your brother, you may not have always seen eye to eye -"

"Damn it, Barry, why are you defending him? You know what happened between us and as far as I'm concerned, Jack Jordan died a long time before last week." Hal's anger sends a pulse through his ring, causing the green aura of his suit to flare.

The speedster didn't understand why Hal was still wearing his stupid Lantern outfit anyway, but he doesn't comment. He's tired, and there's irritation itching at his skin. 

Barry wanted to scream at Hal to grow up already, to get over himself and his petty feud with his recently deceased brother. He holds his tongue and pushes his own anger away. "Hal please, I don't want to fight with you, just - at least call Jim, he needs you Hal."

"I _can't_ , I-" Hal was looking down at his ring, and Barry suddenly realised why Hal hadn't powered down his uniform yet.

Any self-restraint fluttered away as a heavy feeling settled in his stomach. "Hal, you - You can't honestly be thinking of leaving!" Barry wanted to believe in his best friend, wanted Hal to tell him his assumptions were wrong. The speedster needed Hal to tell him he's staying, right here, with Barry.

"I'm not even meant to be on Earth right now, Bar." There's a whisper of regret in Hal's voice, but it goes by unnoticed as a curl of rage twisted its way through Barry. 

"I had to fight for days just to be able to come to see _you_ for even a minute... I'm already running out of time." As Hal finished, the ring on his finger gave a chirp of warning, he only had fifteen minutes left before the wormhole would shut.

The simmering anger that had built up exploded out from Barry, "That was before you knew your brother _died_! Before you knew Jim had to bury his oldest brother, _ALONE_. How could you even consider -"

Hal had heard enough. "There's nothing to consider here! My duties as a Lantern will always take the highest priority." 

It's the truth. It had always been the truth. Hal had warned the League when he joined, that the Corps, the universe, would always take priority over one planet. He had warned Barry too. Not just about Green Lantern, but about Hal Jordan.

Barry's body had stilled unnaturally. There was a cold minute of silence before he responded, "What if it was me?"

The speedster's words cut into Hal in a way that only Barry would ever be able to hurt him. "That's not fair."

"Answer the damn question, Hal. If you had come back to Earth, and I was already _dead_ and _buried_ , would you even care? Or would you just go running back to your precious Guardians."

"Fuck. You." Hal returned, "How could you ever ask me that? Of course I would care, I love you!"

"The same way you loved Jack? Or hell, the way you _love_ Jim? Because sorry if I'm struggling to believe that your version of love is anything more than a token gesture." For as much as Barry was seen as the most kind-hearted and selfless League member, the speedster could also hurt when he wanted to.

"Wow, I forgot how much of a colossal asshole you can be!" Hal snarled, "I'm sorry that I don't have such blind faith in blood ties that it lets me overlook murder charges! But, news flash Barry, not all relationships are fucking sunshine and rainbows, sometimes they fall apart and _stay_ broken."

The speedster replied sharply, his gaze had become cold and unrelenting, "Yeah, Hal, I'm beginning to see that very clearly."

The chirping of Hal's ring was back, more insistent than before. Barry's eye's narrowed at the object before he spoke again, shoulders taut with tension.

"Hal Jordan, I swear if you leave right now, we're through." It's a stupid move on Barry's part. At the best of times, Hal was like a wild animal backed into a corner; giving him an ultimatum would only ever end in with one result.

Hal turned towards the door immediately. He wished he'd had the decency to hesitate, to make some show that the decision being made was a difficult one. Still, it was all the answer Barry needed.

"Fine, I won't stop you, but I'm not Carol." The speedster said firmly, "We're done Lantern. Don't bother coming back around."

Hal clenched his jaw, he didn't need to look into the speedster's eyes to know Barry was serious. When Hal walked away, he was leaving behind not just their current relationship, but years of friendship too. 

"I'm sorry I couldn't choose you." The Lantern finally whispered, but he's already halfway across the universe, and it's too late.

Another name is added to Hal's list of failures: 

Barry Allen.


	2. In the dark, can you hear me whisper?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Relationships were hard. Throw in superpowers, aliens threatening to destroy the world and two people who had the combined emotional maturity of a teenager... Well, Barry and Hal's relationship was doomed before it began.

Hal Jordan had many regrets.

When he was 8, he picked on a girl in school because of her red hair. There was no real reason behind his actions, he was just bored and thought it would be funny. It wasn't, he realised when she ran off the playground crying.

Later, when he was 13, he left his brother in the park by himself because he was fed up of the younger boy constantly following him around. His mother had been furious, but it was his father's disappointment that stung most.

Thinking back to what felt like a lifetime ago, Hal wasn't sure he regretted anything more than the way he abandoned both his partner and his brother.

However, he doesn't regret his overall decision to leave.

Hal had a duty to the Green Lantern Corps that could not be overruled. The ring on his finger was a mighty tool that saved lives and protected the balance of the universe. Only a select few were granted the responsibility and power to use them. And Hal wasn't just any Lantern; he was considered to be one of the greatest. 

As a result, his words held weight, and his actions influenced thousands of others. It allowed him certain privileges, like being granted a short span of time to travel home in the midst of a long waging battle. But these privileges came at a cost.

That cost was his life. 

When he took the oath to become a Green Lantern, he made a choice to sacrifice any chance at a normal life to answer a higher calling. Every Lantern committed to this, and it was why Hal could never regret his choice to leave when Barry had so determinedly asked him to stay.

What he did regret was spending what little time he'd been granted to return to Earth fighting with his best friend. 

Hal loved Barry. Loved Jim. And deep down, he probably loved Jack too, even if their memories were painful and filled with anger. 

When Jessica Jordan was given a heartbreaking diagnosis, the eldest Jordan brother had sharpened his grief and used it to slice Hal into ribbons. Jack had pinned the blame for the illness on Hal, citing that his recklessness and decision to become a pilot had eaten away at their mother until her body had given out. 

Even as teenagers, Jack had blamed their parent's argument before the death of Martin Jordan on Hal too. Anything that went wrong was Hal's fault.

That's not to say Hal had been an easy brother to live with either. He had given back just as good as Jack had dished out.

Eventually, all that hatred between them came to a head after their mother's funeral. Both too raw and exhausted to do anything but scream at each other. Hal had thrown everything he had at Jack, who in turn was happy to crush any remnants of their relationship into dust. 

Hal's older brother had told him that he was poisonous, only capable of hurting those around him. But Jack's abuse didn't stop there, he had told Hal he'd wished his brother had died in the air force, in a crash like their father, so the remaining Jordan's could've finally lived in peace without him. 

Jack had said he was disgusted Hal had dared outlive their mother and told the man to stay away from him. Hal had happily obliged and could count on one hand the number of times he'd had contact with his brother in the last two years.

When Barry tried to defend Jack, it was as if the speedster was agreeing with every hateful thing his brother had ever said about him. The love Hal had for Barry was fierce, and even if it was an irrational conclusion, that thought had hurt him more than any injury ever could.

In hindsight, the Lantern should have just told Barry why he _needed_ to leave. Hal could have made the speedster listen to him and explained that what had started out as a few 'disturbances' had since turned into a complete jailbreak. 

If he had told Barry that Jack Jordan hadn't been the only brother Hal had lost in the weeks that had passed since he left Earth, maybe the speedster would have understood. Understood that Hal's mindset was focussed on containment and combat strategies. Lives had already been lost, and in the heat of battle, Hal couldn't afford to mourn any of them. Not even Jack Jordan, not yet, not until the fight was over.

Even now the fight still raged on. 

Hal had simply been told to wait in the medical centre for a doctor to assess his injuries and clear him for active duty before returning to the frontlines. It was one of the few moments he'd had to himself in a long time; allowing him time to think about more than just creating constructs and fighting for survival.

The Lantern was growing concerned though. It shouldn't take this long for a doctor to give him a slap on the back, advise a meaningful amount of rest (that there would be no way for Hal to get), and send him on his way. 

Hal's concerns proved well-founded when a doctor entered the room with Kilowog by his side, and a green hologram of Guardian Appa Ali Apsa hovering next to them.

"Three on one doesn't seem like a fair fight, can't you at least let Kilowag be on my side." Hal quipped, an automatic response to the heaviness in the atmosphere.

"Lantern of Sector 2814, I have concluded my assessment and conferred with commander Kilowag and the Guardians as to your recovery. I can confirm that your right clavicle has suffered a transverse non-displaced fracture, together with stress fractures of the right scapula and humerus. You also have severe bruising." The doctor, a pink-skinned reptilian in some form of alien scrubs, clinically listed off.

"So I won't be playing baseball or doing the macarena any time soon, got it. Anything else I should be worried about?" Hal drawled.

"Kid, you're lucky that thing didn't completely chew your arm off, now isn't the time to be making jokes." Kilowog growled in retort.

The authoritative tone of the present Guardian silenced the pair's argument immediately. "Hal Jordan of Earth, given the impact of your injuries on your human physiology, a conclusion has been reached to place you on temporary medical leave." 

"I can still fight." Hal snarled, not willing to back down.

"C'mon Jordan, you haven't taken a break from the front lines in weeks. Not since..."

Not since Hal had returned from his trip to Earth. Kilowog was aware of what had transpired between him and Barry, and the Bolovaxian knew better than to it bring up now. 

"The decision has been made, Hal Jordan. Under the current circumstances, your medical leave will be restricted to two weeks. You will be returning to Earth shortly." Guardian Appa Ali Apsa stated with his typical air of disdain.

"Given my understanding of human anatomy, I would estimate a full recovery period of six to eight weeks but -"

"Yeah, yeah, but needs must and all that." Hal said, frustration lacing his words. If it had only been the doctor in front of him trying to enforce the medical leave, Hal could have been out of the door and back in the fray in minutes. This was why a Lantern (he respected) _and_ a Guardian had been present. Hal might have been able to overrule one, but not both at the same time.

"Fine, all your exotic alien drugs make me nauseous anyway."

* * *

It didn't take long for Hal to get back to Earth. 

The Guardians had thankfully granted him authorisation to use a wormhole to make the jump, saving Hal days of unpleasant hyperspace travel. The only downside was that the Lantern didn't have any time to plan what he would do once he reached his native planet.

_Don't bother coming back around._

Hal supposed he would just have to return to his apartment in Coast and hide out for two weeks. He wasn't prepared to face his demons today, not when he could be called back into action at any time. Injured or not, Hal was still one of the Corps' top fighters. He couldn't afford to be compromised with such a formidable threat still lurking in the shadows.

As Hal drifted past Mars, a hail crackled through his League communicator. Hal groaned and plastered a fake smile on his face, hoping it would translate across the channel.

"You're through to the one and only Green Lantern of Earth, how can I assist you today?"

"Lantern, it has been far too long. If you are available, your assistance would be appreciated in Italy, Circe is causing quite the scene." The warm voice of J'onn J'onzz buzzed back over the line.

"Mmm, pasta and freshly baked garlic bread, say no more. I'm on my way, tell Dee to save some of the ass-kicking for me!" Hal answered with the over the top enthusiasm that was expected from him.

"Certainly."

Fortunately, the fight finished shortly after the Lantern arrived. But instead of escaping to his apartment like planned, Hal was dragged by Green Arrow back to the Watchtower. The pilot enjoyed their friendly verbal sparring as they walked towards the League's conference room and was particularly grateful for the distraction it provided from the familiar blur of red and yellow that zipped past.

Once all the Leaguer's were settled, Superman reeled off the usual team debriefing pep talk about getting better at working together, blah blah blah. Supes really did need to get some new material.

"GL, you've been off-world for a considerable amount of time, is there anything going on out there we should know about?" The Kryptonian asked, and the rest of the group turned their attention to the Lantern.

"To summarise? The Guardians in their ever eternal wisdom created a fancy space prison to hold a bunch of deadly monsters that could each _individually_ wipe out entire solar systems." 

Hal continued his rant with increasing exasperation, "Some looney with your standard 'I-must-destroy-the-universe-complex' came along and clearly couldn't help themselves. I have no idea how long they were planning for it, but they actually managed to stage a full-blown jailbreak."

"And to finish the story, the Green Lanterns are now the only line of defence against the total obliteration of multiple star systems. So, you know, just your average Thursday."

The League members present took a moment to process Hal's words.

"Any threat to Earth?" Batman asked, all business as usual.

Hal snorted, "Not unless they suddenly get access to wormhole technology, and even then it's unlikely any of them could survive the jump."

"Come on then flyboy, tell us what happened to your shoulder? You couldn't have been that lonely in space." Oliver poked at his friend with a sly smirk. 

All eyes fell back to Hal, who had been deliberately avoiding their questioning looks at his neon shoulder brace since he'd joined in the skirmish with Circe.

Not able to put it off any longer, Hal's voice took on a darker edge.

"One of the big, bad and uglies managed to take out some of the newbies, _permanently_. It became my job to play with it, keep its focus away from the others whenever the bastard decided to venture out from its cave." 

Hal quickly returned to his laid back tone when he realised he was letting too much slip, "A bit like Spooky over there."

"Anyway, apparently I got a bit too good at pissing off the world-eating monster, and it tried to take a bite out of me." Hal gestured to his shoulder brace construct, and some of the team rolled their eyes at Hal's trademark recklessness.

"I guess I left a bad taste in its mouth, though, as it didn't quite finish the job. I've been put on medical leave in the meantime."

Oliver made a leud comment about Hal being familiar with leaving bad tastes in people's mouths, but before Hal could retort, Bruce cut in once more.

"When do you expect the situation to be dealt with? With you off-world, the League's been down a heavy hitter for almost 12 weeks."

"Aww Spooky, it's okay to say you missed me." Hal replied with a sickly sweet grin.

Batman only glared in return.

"Fine, honestly, I don't know. It was only supposed to take a week at the start, and now we've been fighting non-stop for..." Hal suddenly realised Bruce had said he'd been off-world for twelve weeks, that was... "Wow, three months, huh?"

"How long are you on medical leave for?" Wonder Woman asked with concern.

"Two weeks, but I might be called back earlier if things go south. There aren't many Lanterns who can go toe to toe with _Chompy_ on their own, and it's been pretty much just me keeping it at bay."

"Sounds rough, but it's good to have you back, brother." Oliver said with an honest smile, and a few others chipped in too. 

"It's our very own Christmas miracle!" The archer laughed.

The rest of the debrief was relatively quick, and Hal spent the remaining time pointedly ignoring the growing ache in his shoulder and the presence of a certain speedster.

"Great, I think that pretty much wraps everything up then." Superman said, giving the team a subtle dismissal. 

Hal had half expected Barry to be the first one out of the door, but when the speedster stayed seated, the Lantern hovered near his own chair too. 

Finally, when only the Lantern and the speedster remained, Hal glanced up to find Barry staring at him.

"Would you mind losing the outfit? I'd prefer to speak to Hal, not Green Lantern." Barry asked in a voice that was usually reserved for difficult civilians.

Hal dismissed the uniform and visibly winced as the shoulder brace dematerialised with it.

"Thanks." Barry replied, his tone softening slightly. 

As the speedster removed the hood of his own suit, Hal was struck by the sheer intensity of just how much he'd missed the blonde in front of him. A selfish part of him longed to reach out to Barry, but the rest of Hal wanted to hide in shame.

The pilot swallowed heavily as an awkward silence stretched between them, "How have you been?"

"Fine." It's the only answer Barry seemed willing to give, and Hal couldn't help but despise himself for creating the current rift between them.

"I'm sorry I left the way I did -" Hal tried to apologise.

"But you're not sorry you left." The speedster said resolutely.

"No. The Corps is -" Hal's lips moved by instinct, but he was cut off once more.

"Your highest priority, yeah, you mentioned." Barry finished, a trace of underlying bitterness haunting his words. 

"That doesn't mean -" _that I love you any less._ Hal wanted to say, but Barry was already speaking again.

"Now that you're back, will you go and see Jim?"

"I -" Hal stumbled; he wanted to go see his brother, he truly did. But his head - it's still on the battlefield, and he's not sure that's going to change anytime soon. "I don't think that would go well, I could still get called back at any time."

"And I thought I was the speedster." Barry retorted, and it took a second for Hal to understand the implication.

"I'm _not_ running away!" The pilot snapped back.

"Yes, you are Hal. You've been doing it your whole life, and I don't know why I was stupid enough to believe you'd stop running for me." 

Barry yanked the cowl of his suit up and promptly walked out of the room.

Frustration bubbled up from Hal's gut, and the reaction that followed was muscle memory. He needed to hit something.

So he did.

And now Hal was in trouble with a capital 'T'. Because trying to punch a wall with a broken shoulder was a _very_ bad idea. In fact, trying to do anything with a fractured shoulder without any form of support was a terrible, terrible idea.

Something in him had _shifted_.

Hal was almost certain he was about to pass out. 

He couldn't even pull together the concentration to bring his uniform back, which only left him one choice. Hal prayed that the speedster had kept walking at a human speed after he left the room.

Hal called out for Barry but just breathing, let alone speaking, sent waves of pain through his unquestionably _broken_ shoulder, causing his jaw to snap shut.

Nevertheless, Barry's voice was suddenly next to him. 

"Hal? Damn it, you really are an idiot." 

"Hold on, I'm taking you to the med bay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for all the whumpy drama! I promise I have something lighthearted in progress too. 
> 
> I just need to finish a few other bits (ASAP) otherwise they'll all be constantly stuck as WIPs.
> 
> In the meantime... enjoy the dark side ;0)
> 
> \- OaXs xx


	3. Sing me to sleep so we can wake among the stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Relationships were hard. Throw in superpowers, aliens threatening to destroy the world and two people who had the combined emotional maturity of a teenager... Well, Barry and Hal's relationship was doomed before it began.

"I'll need to cut off your jacket and t-shirt, we have to keep your arm immobilised to prevent further injury." Doctor Mid-Nite stated impassively while reviewing Hal's radiographs.

"Nobody touches the jacket." Hal growled protectively, "And the t-shirt isn't mine, so you can forget about touching that too."

Barry wasn't surprised by the reaction, the worn leather jacket had belonged to Martin Jordan, and Hal placed its value high above anything else he owned. Though the speedster couldn't think of a t-shirt that held any significance for the pilot. 

Hal wasn't known to be particularly materialistic, and if anything, the opposite was true. 

Intrigued, Barry shifted into view and spotted the familiar, well-worn S.T.A.R laboratories tee that the speedster recalled Hal having thrown on before he left back in September. The pilot had laughed rambunctiously at Barry's half-hearted moan to stop stealing his clothes. 

The speedster hastily pushed the memory away when a sharp ache ran through his chest. 

Now wasn't the time for a trip down memory lane, so Barry drew his focus back to Doctor Mid-Nite and the various radiographs of Hal's right clavicle, scapula and humerus. It wasn't pretty, and the speedster understood why it would be necessary to keep Hal from doing even _more_ damage.

Nevertheless, after a brief standoff against the League's doctor, the brown leather jacket was carefully removed and remained in one piece by the Lantern's side. The process had been awkward, obviously causing Hal a lot of pain, as the pilot was left lightly panting and had a sheen of sweat coating his brow.

"Just... need a... minute." Hal breathlessly insisted, obviously trying to will away the pain before they attempted to shimmy him out of the t-shirt too.

"It's only a t-shirt." The speedster replied quietly, unsettled at the current vulnerability of Earth's Green Lantern. "There's no harm in letting the good doctor cut it off."

"That's not your call to make, _Flash_." Hal's tone was sharpened by his pain, and it set off a flare of indignation in the speedster.

Barry wanted to argue back that it was _precisely_ his call to make, given that it was _Barry's_ t-shirt. However, with Doctor Mid-Nite still in the room, the speedster had to remain cautious about revealing too much of their secret identities.

The Lantern continued speaking, his expression twisting into something new, but Hal turned his face away before Barry could read it.

"I promised to return it."

Barry sent the man a frustrated glare that was obviously ignored.

"I'm sure your _friend_ can live without one t-shirt."

"I don't know, we had a pretty big fight... I'm not sure where we stand at the moment." Hal had answered honestly but stopped short of saying anything else that might have compromised their cover. 

Still, Barry knew the pilot well enough to read the sentiment behind Hal's words. _I've already hurt you enough._

"Even so, I don't think he would want you to suffer on his behalf." The speedster argued back softly.

"No, probably not." Hal admitted with a knowing smile, "The guy's selfless to a fault, the best man I've ever met."

The speedster swallowed thickly at the unexpected confession, and Barry couldn't stop himself from pushing further, "Sounds like he means a lot to you..."

"Yeah, more than -." 

_Hissh._

As the door slid open, the pair realised that Doctor Mid-Nite had left at some point and was now returning. 

Whatever fragile peace had built up between them broke away at the intrusion, and an oppressive atmosphere settled back over the room.

Stomping down on his emotions, Barry turned towards the door, sparing a short nod of respect at the League's on-call doctor as he passed.

"Look after yourself, Lantern." Barry called back over his shoulder, but the speedster was back in Central City before Hal could reply.

* * *

Even before becoming The Flash, Barry Allen had always been generous with his time, eager to help out where he could.

So when Oliver had called to ask for a favour, Barry, the fool, had obviously agreed before knowing the full details. 

In hindsight, their resident archer using 'an emergency at Queen Industries' as an excuse should have rung alarm bells. Oliver had once tried to justify that a Disney movie marathon had been more urgent than a shareholder meeting after all.

Hence, Barry suspected that the archer had an alternate motive for sending the speedster on his current mission. But he had already agreed to help and wouldn't go back on his word.

Which is how Barry found himself with bags full of groceries stood outside Hal's apartment after finishing his shift at the CCPD.

The speedster was torn though. 

Things were wildly uncertain between him and Hal, neither having spoken with the other since the incident on the Watchtower a few days prior. Barry wasn't sure the pilot would even let him in if he knocked. 

And while technically Hal had given him a spare key years ago, Barry felt like it would be rude to just walk in unannounced. Still, the speedster _was_ doing Hal a favour, even if it was on Oliver's behalf.

Eventually arguing that Hal might be sleeping, Barry shoved the key in the lock and darted inside the apartment before he could change his mind. As he made his way to the kitchen, Barry noted the sounds of the shower running from further inside the apartment. Deciding that was for the best, the speedster put away the various groceries. 

Or at least he _tried_. 

Hal's kitchen, while not 'messy', was a reflection of the man's chaotic nature. The first draw he opened contained a mixture of protein bars, unopened spices and a way out of date bottle of orange juice. The cupboard situation wasn't much better and had cereal stacked next to laundry detergent and a broken mop head. 

For a moment, Barry questioned how the Lantern had managed to live on his own and survive. Then again, Hal had been practically living at Barry's even before they were dating...

The speedster's train of thought drifted, and Barry missed the sound of the shower turning off as he tried to bring some semblance of organisation to Hal's kitchen.

"Ollie, please tell me you got the -" Hal froze as his eyes landed on the speedster.

Barry mirrored the action. 

Hal had evidently just stepped out of the shower, as there were droplets of water still clinging to his skin, and he was only wearing a pair of loose sweatpants. The speedster couldn't stop his gaze from wandering to the dark contusions that were peppered over Hal's right side. 

_Don't bother coming back around._

The speedster had nearly gotten his wish, and the guilt sat heavily on Barry's heart.

When Hal didn't immediately kick Barry out of his apartment, the speedster took the initiative to explain why he was stood in the man's kitchen. 

"Oliver had something come up at Queen Industries, so he asked me to drop you some supplies." Barry finally managed to get out.

"Right." Hal replied, clearly not quite believing Oliver's cover story either. "Sorry for the trouble and thank you for, you know... the supplies. Erm- how much do I owe you?"

After years of accommodating for Hal's inability to act like a functioning member of society, Barry didn't think twice before answering. "Don't worry about it."

"Thanks." 

A pregnant pause overcame the pair.

"Did you want a drink? I mean, you don't have to stay -" Hal started to ramble, obviously finding the situation just as uncomfortable as Barry.

Not wanting to make the awkwardness worse, the speedster gave a nod of agreement. "Sure."

"Great. Well, help yourself, I'll be back in a sec."

Using a burst of speed to finish putting everything away, Barry swiped a cold coke from the fridge before taking a seat in the living room. Hal joined him a few minutes later after grabbing his own drink, now wearing a baggy blue top and his sling.

As the pilot sat down, Barry noted the prominent stiffness in Hal's movements. It was a dead giveaway that Hal was suffering, and in a way that had nothing to do with the current awkwardness between them. 

The speedster would've usually hounded the man about taking the appropriate pain relief and getting enough sleep. With how things stood between them though, Barry didn't think it was his place to push the subject, so he let the pair slip into another painful silence.

"So... I saw James was up to his old _tricks_ in Central, he doing okay?" Hal asked, and Barry held back an eye roll at the overused pun.

Every citizen of the Gem Cities had become well aware of the unconventional relationship between The Flash and his Rogues. Barry himself had lost count of how often he'd explained to other heroes that the group of 'villains' weren't all that evil. They were just regular people who had been dealt a bad hand in life. 

Early on in their friendship, Hal had also become invested in The Rogues' welfare, often blaming Barry's fondness for them as having rubbed off on the Lantern. 

When Hal insisted on tagging along to his regular catch-ups with The Trickster, it had meant a lot to Barry, and James was thrilled to have another visitor.

Satisfied that Hal's concern was genuine, Barry relaxed and set off at an increasing pace as he filled the pilot in on all the latest news surrounding The Rogues.

Eventually, the pair ended up ordering takeout, as Barry's stomach wouldn't stop rumbling and Hal was insistent on paying the speedster back for his groceries. 

For a few hours, they fell back into their old routine, and it was almost as if the last three months had never happened. But when a call for The Flash came through from Central, they were thrown back into reality. 

The comfortable atmosphere dissolved, and the rift between the pair returned.

Barry sighed as he turned towards the door, preparing himself to walk out of his former best friend's life once more.

"Hey Hal, you're going to be alright, yeah?"

For a moment, Hal only chuckled in response. 

"You know me, Bear."

* * *

_"You know me, Bear."_

Barry did, and that was the problem.

Hal took every hit the universe threw at him, dusted himself off, and asked if that was the best it could do.

The man would barrel headfirst into any fight, always acting instead of reacting. Unflinching in the face of danger.

And if anyone dared suggest that the Green Lantern couldn't handle something, it just drove Hal to work even harder to prove them wrong. 

Bruce had called Hal reckless and overconfident. 

Diana compared him to a raging storm, a force of nature.

But Barry had glimpsed behind the curtain.

He had seen the man act with more patience than he was ever given credit for.

Had felt a touch too gentle to ever be considered destructive. 

Barry loved Hal, that would never change. 

But he couldn't go back to the way things were...

" _FLASH_!"

Barry skidded to a stop, sending a spray of earth and dust into the air. A yellow blur of lighting flew past him, before circling back and finally coming to a less graceful halt beside him.

Wally was clearly out of breath, face red with both hands braced against his hips.

"I thought... I was going... to lose you for a minute there." Wally wheezed, not having had to push his limits as a speedster quite that far in a long time. 

Sometimes it was hard to remember just how much faster Barry could go compared to his nephew. Making sure to keep pace with the teenager had become second nature since Wally took on the mantle of Kid Flash.

Barry looked at their surrounding landscape with confusion.

"Kid, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."

"Yeah, you kind of blew through Kansas, and Missouri... and the entire North Atlantic Ocean." Wally listed off with a grin.

The older speedster gave a sheepish apology, "Sorry, I got stuck in my head for a minute there."

It happened to every speedster at some point, as it was all too easy to slip into the speed force and get lost in thought. It was dangerous, and Barry really should know better.

"And yet you're the one always telling _me_ to watch where I put my feet. We live in a world full of hypocrites." Wally huffed in pretend annoyance, flapping his arms in the air to emphasise his complaints.

"Well, generally keeping them out of your mouth is a good start, but I know you struggle with that." Barry ribbed the boy lightly, and Wally gave an overdramatic shout of indignation.

"You wound me, Uncle. I am wounded!" Wally cried in a terrible British accent, one hand desperately clutching at the red lightning bolt on his Kid Flash costume.

"Robin's been making you watch those awful soap operas again, hasn't he?" Barry asked, one eyebrow raised at the theatrics.

" _Maybe_." Wally replied, poking his tongue out childishly. 

Feeling the nudge of hunger poking at his stomach, Barry pulled out an emergency speedster ration bar (curtsey of Wayne Enterprises). The Flash threw it at his partner, knowing that if he was hungry, his nephew would be starving.

"Really, carrot cake flavour?" The redhead deadpanned, eye's narrowing at the disturbingly orange block of what was supposedly food.

Barry laughed at the teenager's displeasure, "Just eat it, Kid. We're halfway across the world and if you're late for dinner again -"

"I know, I know!" 

Wally sighed and inhaled the bar in a blink of an eye, "But I'd like to point out that I wasn't the one who spontaneously decided to take a trip to Europe."

"Fair enough." Barry answered, throwing his hands up in surrender.

A fraction of a second later, both heroes were wrapped in the speed force and heading back to the States. This time, Barry kept a firm hold on his powers, making sure to match Kid Flash's pace accordingly.

For speedsters, they hadn't made it relatively far until Wally started talking again.

"You were thinking about GL." Wally all but blurted out, a shy blush peeking out from under his cowl.

Barry couldn't stop the look of surprise he sent his nephew's way, "You could tell?"

Wally suddenly looked nervous, as if he was overstepping. "Yeah, there's not much that'll send you off the deep end like that, so I figured..." 

"It's okay Kid, I don't mind you talking about him, I know you guys are close." Barry answered, but he could see the uncertainty in Wally's posture that hinted his partner didn't quite believe him.

Seeming to trust Barry's words for now, Wally pushed a bit further. "You said you had a fight with him." 

It's a statement, not a question.

"Yeah."

"And then you broke up." Another statement.

After Barry had given Wally a cliff notes rendition of the fight between him and Hal, the younger speedster hadn't brought up the Green Lantern once. Having his nephew suddenly probing into the break-up was unnerving, but the older speedster answered his questions anyway. 

"... Yeah."

"Would you -" Wally paused, uncharacteristically second-guessing himself. "If he _apologised_ , would you get back together?"

The blunt question pushed the speedster a little too close towards confronting the painful ache in his chest, and Barry wasn't sure how to answer. "It's not as simple as that, kiddo."

"Right, yeah. Sorry, it was a stupid question." Wally deflated, his speed drooping.

Barry eased off of his own speed in response, taking a moment to consider how he should explain the situation. "I love GL, Kid, that's never going to change."

Wally's eyes lit up with a spark of hope, "So why-"

" _But_ ," Barry cut his nephew off before he could get ahead of himself, "Sometimes it takes more than love to make a relationship work, buddy. When I see him wearing that Lantern uniform... it's just a reminder that he's leaving me behind."

"GL _always_ comes back though." Wally retorted, taking his uncle's words at face value.

Barry started to regret not steering away from the topic of his love life - there was a lot to unpack from that comment.

"I know that he'll always fight to come back to us, but that's not really what I meant, Kid."

Barry paused, not knowing how much to admit to his nephew. Then again, Wally had just turned 15, he deserved to know at least some of the truth. 

"Sometimes, when he comes home, I feel like I know less about him. As if a part of him got lost in space and didn't come back."

Once the words have left his mouth, Barry is the first to admit that he may have gone a little overboard with the sharing of his feelings.

Wally, however, was silent as he took a moment to carefully process his uncle's words. 

"Have you ever told _him_ that?"

And now it was Barry's turn to hide a flush of embarrassment. "Well, not in those exact words, no."

"And you say me and Rob are bad." Wally muttered dryly with a roll of his eyes. 

"You refused to talk to each other for days because Robin said strawberry was the best flavour of ice cream." Barry laughed, settling back into the pair's usual banter.

Wally sent a heated glare at his uncle. "Yeah, because he was _wrong_. Everyone knows that title is reserved for chocolate fudge brownie." 

"Whatever you say, Kid." 

"You're in no position to judge, Mr Vanilla." Wally quipped back, dipping further into the speed force to race ahead of The Flash, even if only for a moment.

They stayed quiet for a while after that, finally crossing back into the US. Still, Barry could tell Wally had more he wanted to say.

"You know, if the wind changes, your face will be stuck that way."

"Oh my god, you're _so_ old!" Wally groaned in annoyance, wondering how someone as epic as The Flash could also be so outdated.

"Whatever you say, _Kid_ Flash." Barry smirked, giving Wally a superspeed nudge with his elbow. "Something's still bothering you, so spill."

Wally looked torn for a moment, "It's nothing, I already know the answer is going to be no."

"If you don't go after what you want, you'll never have it. If you don't ask, the answer is always no. If you don't step forward, you're always in the same place." Barry recited, remembering the fond words his mother had always quoted.

Wally, in turn, gave him another look of despair, and Barry could practically hear the teenagers voice in his head shouting ' _You're so OLD_!'

Still, it seemed to give the teenager a push of courage. "Okay, okay... Here goes nothing -" Wally finally caved, "I wanted to ask... ifUncleHalcouldcomeoverforChristmas?"

By the end of his question, Wally's words were slurring together as he rushed to get them out. The proposal was so unexpected that Barry couldn't even pull together the focus to chide him about using names in the field. 

"I don't know if -"

"I'd already cleared it with Aunt I, but it's fine. I get it, I'll just... text him or something." Wally finished dejectedly. 

Seeing the expression of disappointment and hidden loneliness in Wally's normally sparkling eye's made Barry's heart twist. 

The older speedster sighed in defeat, if Iris was involved, then there really wasn't any choice in the matter.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to at least give him the option." 

* * *

"So, yeah. I don't know if you have plans for Christmas but..." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now introducing (drum roll please)... Wally West!
> 
> And damn, I already have so many spin-off ideas noted down for Hal 'the bad influence, but epic uncle' Jordan.
> 
> Thank you for your support as always :0)
> 
> \- OaXs xx


	4. If you looked into the sun, would you go blind?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Relationships were hard. Throw in superpowers, aliens threatening to destroy the world and two people who had the combined emotional maturity of a teenager... Well, Barry and Hal's relationship was doomed before it began.
> 
> WARNING: This chapter contains references to child abuse, I have marked out the paragraphs to be skipped if this is triggering for anyone.

It's the night before, the night before Christmas. Or December 23rd to be specific.

There shouldn't be anything particularly special about the date; Hal was sure of that. Yet something pulled at the edges of his consciousness that demanded his immediate attention. The constant nudging was too much to ignore, so with a grunt, Hal cracked his eyes open.

And he definitely did _not_ jump.

He did, however, question whether or not he was dreaming. Though, given the returning throb of pain in his shoulder, that idea seemed unlikely. Which meant the blonde-haired, blue-eyed, ~~absolutely gorgeous~~ figure of Barry Allen was real. 

Still, knowing the speedster wasn't a figment of his imagination didn't exactly make the situation any less weird, and Hal wasn't sure he wanted to know why Barry was in his living room watching him sleep.

"Take a picture, Bear, it'll last longer." Hal finally muttered, rubbing one hand against his face to wipe away the sleep that lingered there. 

"H'w long've you been 'ere?" Hal asked as he let out a tired yawn.

"About half an hour. I did knock, but you were sleeping so..." The speedster trailed off, and even though the room was coated in darkness, Hal could picture the tint of red that would be brushed over Barry's cheeks.

Hal flicked on a nearby lamp, feeling a smug sense of satisfaction as he eyed the speedster's predicted blush. "And you decided to watch me sleep, in the dark... like a creepy stalker."

"You looked like you needed the rest." It was an off-hand comment from Barry, laced with good intentions, but the reaction from the pilot was sour.

"Great, so are you only here to tell me I look like shit, or did you want to kick me in the ribs as well?" Hal snapped back, suddenly defensive and not at all in the mood to sit through a lecture from his ex-boyfriend.

"No, I-" Barry paused, letting his grip on his emotions steady before he continued, he hadn't meant to antagonise Hal. "I don't want to fight with you."

The familiar wording struck a blow for both men and the speedster visibly flinched.

"Good, because I can't be bothered to charge the ring anyway." Hal returned with a huff, and Barry was grateful for the out being provided.

"I actually came to talk to you," Barry said loosely, trying to keep the atmosphere between them friendly, "It's about Wally."

"Is he okay?" Hal felt the churning emotions in his gut flare up and claw into his skin, the pilot wasn't sure how well he could handle more bad news right now.

Barry looked anxious for a moment as one foot bounced almost imperceptibly against the floor. A rapid tap echoed through the apartment. If Hal wasn't so on edge, he would have rolled his eyes at the action. 

"Yes... and no?" Barry replied uncertainly but continued speaking before Hal could growl at the speedster to get to the point.

"Wally's been quiet for the last few months, and I know he's missed you, but I don't think he wants to make things awkward between us, so he's been keeping his distance."

"I don't think things _can_ get any more awkward between us." Hal retorted, causing Barry to laugh. It was short and sharp, but it was one of the best sounds the pilot had ever heard.

"Yeah, well, Wally had this idea, and he even went over my head to run it by Iris," Barry started at a normal pace, but soon began to ramble, foot-tapping back in full force.

"And we both know that no one can overrule her, but I tried to explain that you've only been back a few days and that you're hurt and probably still wiped out, and -"

Without thinking, Hal hooked an ankle around the offending leg, touching his knee against Barry's to calm the obsessive movement. "Bar, calm down, you're going all speedster speak on me."

"Sorry, sorry. Wally wanted to see you and Iris already agreed, and she's even hung you a stocking -"

"A stocking, like the bright red and fluffy kind?" Hal asked, confusion melting into curiosity as he realised where this was going.

"So, yeah. I don't know if you have plans for Christmas but..." Barry replied absently, pointedly looking anywhere other than at Hal, feeling hyperaware of the knee brushing against his own. It was such a familiar and grounding gesture that it made Barry crave more contact with the pilot. 

How long had it been since Hal had wrapped his arms around the speedster? Barry's first thought was _too long_ , but he knew all too well why they couldn't. Barry was the one who broke up with Hal; it was selfish to want his reassurances now.

"Ollie's spending Christmas at one of his ' _holiday_ homes', and Dinah insisted I join them for brunch." Hal answered, breaking Barry's concentration.

"Oh, that's nice." Barry replied with a smile, honestly glad that the Lantern wasn't going to be spending Christmas day alone. The speedster tried not to dwell on the fact that Hal clearly had no plans on seeing his brother over the holidays.

Hal let out a low chuckle. "Not really, they're just using me as their Green Lantern delivery service."

Barry quirked an eyebrow at the statement. 

"I'm flying Roy over to Gotham to meet up with Dick after." Hal explained, and the speedster nodded in understanding.

"Right, I'm dropping Wally to the manor after we have lunch with the Garricks too. Then I don't even want to know what Iris is going to have me doing, but I imagine it involves turkey and a baster."

Hal's eyes lit up in a mischievous way that obviously meant he had an obscene comment on his lips. Pushing past the tightness in his chest, Barry cut him off before he could fall more in love with the idiot. 

"As I was trying to say earlier, if you wanted to, Wally would love for you to come round for dinner. You could even fly him back to Central, I know he'd like that."

Hal could list off a thousand reasons why hanging out with his ex-boyfriend, said ex's best friend and his pseudo nephew on Christmas day would end badly. 

For one, it would hurt. To be that close to Barry and... 

Still, this wasn't just about the scarlet speedster, and Hal wasn't someone who backed down out of fear of being hurt. He was a Green Lantern after all, and Wally was part of Hal's true family. It had been months since he'd spoken with his nephew, and the pilot wanted Wally to understand that his place in Hal's life wasn't going to change.

"I'd love to, but... Is this going to be okay with you?" Hal finally asked, looking torn. "I can always catch up with Wally in Gotham -"

Honestly, it had taken a while for the speedster to admit to himself that he _was_ okay with this. Despite what he had said to Hal months ago, the man would always be one of Barry's closest friends, and he couldn't ignore that fact forever. 

"I'm okay with it, and even if you say no to me now, Iris will end up coming round here with a wooden spoon to beat you into submission."

Hal's eyes crinkled as he smothered a laugh. "Wooden spoon? Wow, Bear you are so -"

" _Old_! Yes, yes, I know." Barry groaned, crossing his arms in annoyance, "You all think you're hilarious."

"Think?" Hal asked incredulously, and the speedster had to admit he walked into this one.

"Bar, _baby_ , I know it."

Wanting to end things on a good note with Hal, Barry didn't hang around too long after running through their plan for Christmas day. Which worked in Hal's favour, because other than the Bolovoxian ale the Lantern had swiped off of Kilowog for Barry way back when, he was severely lacking in the gifts department.

Feeling lighter than he had in months, Hal charged his ring and headed off to a nearby spaceport that was open 24/7. He was determined to get everyone gifts that were _literally_ out of this world.

* * *

"Hey Stud, you managed to find the place okay then?" Oliver asked in greeting as Hal touched down in front of the stately home that served as the archer's European holiday villa.

"It's a fucking giant mansion that screams 'white people only'. Yeah, it was easy enough to spot from the stratosphere." Hal answered sarcastically, astounded as always by the sheer wealth of his friend.

Oliver laughed. "Oh good, I thought I'd have to put up a sign saying 'keep out peasants', but I guess the sentiment comes across well enough."

"Sentiment? My, what a big boy word Oliver." Hal ribbed at the archer, easily avoiding the elbow sent his way in retaliation.

"Punch yourself in the balls, Jordan." Oliver snarked, walking the pair through the maze of rooms in the manor.

"Raincheck?" Hal quipped back easily, "Still, I would recommend taking a page out of Spooky's playbook- You know, put up a few gargoyles here and there to really strike the fear of god into all the common people."

"Hal, you _are_ one of the common people."

"Fuck you, Ollie." The Lantern cursed, but there was no heat behind his words. The swift trading of insults was simply a part of their friendship.

The archer gave Hal a smug smirk. "Only if it's my birthday. Dinah doesn't like to share... _much_."

Another voice joined in the conversation.

"Way, _way_ too much information!" Roy shouted from above them, half leaning over the bannisters.

"Ah, and so the true king of the castle makes his entrance." Hal yelled back dramatically, because it would be a cold day in hell before the Lantern backed down from being the centre of attention.

"Pfft. Don't you know it old man." Roy threw back, ignoring Oliver's protests that _he_ should be king.

"You may be a snobby, self-obsessed douchebag, but you will never be anything more than a _Queen_ , Oliver." Hal remarked, flicking the man behind the ear.

"Oh, so what does that make me?" Dinah questioned as the three of them crowded into a large dining room where a table lay stacked high with food.

Hal quickly dipped down onto one knee in front of Dinah, peering up with a tense look of devotion. "Dinah Lance, you are a _goddess_. A holy saint walking amongst mere mortals."

The woman gave a short hum of approval before turning on Oliver and Roy. 

"Watch and learn boys."

* * *

Brunch had, unsurprisingly, been the opposite of a quiet affair. There was still a dollop of blueberry sauce clinging to the wall, and one of the chairs was now missing a leg.

At some point, Dinah had yanked Roy away to grab the gifts they had bought for Dick and Wally, leaving a convenient chance for Oliver and Hal to catch up face to face.

"So, an emergency at Queen Industries? What, the Power Puff girls didn't need your help?" Hal asked sarcastically, dry swallowing his next dose of painkillers.

Oliver let out a disgruntled huff. "You know, instead of being an ungrateful _ass_ , you could say thank you."

Hal would have laughed if his shoulder wasn't kicking up a fuss. "Thank you? For what?"

"For giving you the opportunity to actually _talk_ to Barry. I know you're not exactly known for your emotional maturity-"

This time Hal couldn't hold back a dark chuckle. "I'm bad at emotions? Oh, that's fucking rich, Ollie."  
  
"No, _I'm_ rich." Oliver snarked back automatically, but his expression soon softened.

"And I'm worried. You and Barry are good together, the two of you are like the 'Romeo and Juliet' of the superhero world."

"Wow, how original." Hal scoffed, looking unimpressed. 

Oliver shook his head in exasperation, throwing one arm in the air. "Fine! You can be... Edward and Vivian." 

Hal rolled his eyes at the reference, briefly wondering how angry Roy would be if the Lantern ditched him. "Great. I guess I'm the whore and Barry's the compassionate businessman?"

"Damn it, that's not - I don't know, Isla and Rick? What I'm _trying_ to say is that you two are a package deal."

"Isla and Rick are cinematic icons. I'm just a fuck-up who's not emotionally competent enough to be in a relationship for longer than nine months." Hal returned icily, daring Oliver to challenge him. Which, of course, the archer did immediately.

"Okay, first of all, you and Barry were together for ten months, so that's just _factually_ incorrect. Second of all, cut the act with all the self-loathing bullshit, Brucie broods enough for all of us."

"And thirdly?" The pilot pushed, trying to move along the conversation. Hal wasn't enjoying Oliver digging into his personal business, but it wouldn't be fair on Roy if the pilot left without him, so the Lantern had to tough it out.

"And third of all, - I don't know, Hal. I just want you to be happy... I set you and Barry up so that you'd have the chance to clear the air. Don't tell me that if I hadn't interfered, you would have gone to him yourself?"

"No, I wouldn't have." Hal deadpanned.

"See, god, you're both so infuriating." The archer scowled, crossing his arms as he openly glared at the Lantern.

Hal met his gaze head-on, matching it with his own sharp look. "Did you rehearse this intervention with Dinah?"

"Of course I did, but it's not an intervention. If it was, there'd be a lot more alcohol involved." Oliver said with a chuckle, hoping to ease some of the tension in the room.

"So this is?" Hal pressed, irritation crawling under his skin. 

Oliver sighed, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "This is... A friend telling another friend that letting Barry go would be the single worst decision of your life."

Hal wanted to scream. 

Instead, he pulled a bit more of his mask around himself, burying his roiling emotions under a layer of humour. "And we both know how many of those I make on a daily basis."

The archer let out a bark of laughter, "Don't we all. But I'm serious Hal." 

"As a heart attack?" Hal joked lightly as the pain relief finally kicked in and bled some of the tension from his shoulders.

"As serious as Batman on the topic of concealing secret identities."

**WARNING: FROM HERE ON THERE WILL BE MENTIONS CHILD ABUSE, SKIP TO THE NEXT BREAK TO AVOID THESE REFERENCES**

* * *

"I never thought I'd see the day." Hal retorted, moving to stand in front of the large fireplace still crackling away.

Oliver placed one hand on Hal's good shoulder, hoping the contact would get across his sincerity. "You _need_ to talk to him. And I'm not saying you should confess every dark secret of your life, but he needs to know... At least tell him about Jack."

The tension in the room skyrocketed. "The _only_ reason I told _you_ about Jack was that we were both one fucking shot away from alcohol poisoning." Hal growled, pinching at the bridge of his nose as he tried to quell the sudden nausea climbing up his throat.

Oliver kept his voice level, well aware he was treading on thin ice. "And I promised to never tell a single soul, and I haven't. Not even Dinah."

"Barry knows enough." Hal said resolutely, forcing his eyes to meet Olivers.

The archer let his grip on Hal's shoulder tighten. "Barry thinks that Jack was a shitty brother, he doesn't know that the guy was downright -"

" _Don't_." Hal interrupted with a snarl, moving out of contact with Oliver.

"Abusive. Hal, there's no other word for it. You were barely thirteen, your father had just died, and you spent the next five years of your life under the constant harassment of a man six years older than you." Oliver finished, keeping a close eye on Hal's reaction. It would either be explosive or... 

"It wasn't - _I_ wasn't... We had fights, like any other siblings, and I was as bad as him."

_Denial._

Oliver would have preferred if Hal had thrown a punch. Anger, the archer could deal with, but trying to undo years of mental conditioning was an unprecedented challenge. Realistically, Dinah was the only one qualified to be unpicking Hal's childhood trauma.

"No, you weren't Hal. You called Jack an ass while he branded you a murderer. You slammed the bedroom door while Jack convinced your mother not to feed you because you'd been in a fight at school. You gave him a black eye while Jack _choked_ you."

Hal openly flinched, but Oliver wasn't finished. 

"He was six years older than you, a legal adult, and someone who knew exactly what they were doing."

When Hal finally spoke, his voice was hoarse and quiet. "What difference would it make? Even if you're right, and even if I told Barry, it wouldn't matter."

"Yes. It would." 

Seeing Hal so unsure of himself was just wrong to the archer. If Jack wasn't already dead, Oliver would have torn the bastard's throat out himself. He nearly had the first time Hal had divulged his secret to Oliver. 

A clattering from down the hallway brought the pair back from the dark spiral they had been heading towards.

The change in Hal that followed was scary.

The pilot stood upright, squaring his shoulders and letting a mask of confidence settle over his face. Hal was back to being the 'acceptable' version of himself as if Oliver hadn't just brought up one of his oldest demons and laid his soul bare. 

* * *

**END OF WARNING**

After taking a minute to collect his thoughts, Hal spoke up again. "Ollie, I know you're trying to look out for me. Believe me... I want to fix things with Barry too."

Oliver eyed him with scrutiny, taking in every tense line and shadow of pain his friend was trying to hide. "You're drowning Hal, all this shit is eating you up."

Hal tightened the fist by his side, fighting off the urge to fly out of the manor and leave this conversation behind. "What do you want me to say, Oliver?"

"I want you to be honest with yourself, with me, with _Barry_." The archer answered, physically taking a step back to give Hal more breathing room.

"I'm -"

Oliver interrupted the pilot. "Highball, if the next word out of your mouth is _fine_ , I will personally shove an arrow so far up your -"

Hal sighed in resignation, cutting the archer off. "I have everything under control."

"For how long, Hal? How long will that control last before it burns you to dust?"

Hal didn't even have the decency to look guilty. "Long enough. It has to. There are people, planets, entire systems depending on me. I can't afford to be anything other than _fine_ right now."

Now it was Oliver's turn to sigh. "I know, I get it. Somedays I struggle just keeping one city afloat, let alone the universe. But I have Dinah, and Roy, and _you_. People that help me carry that burden."

"It's the same for me, Ollie. God, sometimes the only thing that keeps me going for weeks on end, in a galaxy lightyears away, is the thought of coming home to all of you, to my nephews..." _to Barry._

"And we are _always_ happy to have you home. We'd all be willing to help carry your burden, and no one wants to do that more than Barry."

Before Hal could respond, a booming voice echoed down the hallway. _"Come on grandad's, you're only getting older!"_

In an instant, whatever door's Oliver had begun to pry open were slammed shut. The archer cursed Roy's lousy timing.

It was downright disturbing to see how good of an actor the Lantern could be. Even with one arm in a sling and the pale underlay of his usually tanned skin, Hal could still pull an air of strength and unrelenting will around himself.

Accepting that this was the end of their conversation, the archer walked Hal to the entrance hall. Roy and Dinah were stood by the door, piles of gifts stacked high on either side of them.

"Damn, Mr Lewis, what did you do, buy out all of Rodeo Drive?" Hal asked, his typical swagger and cockiness back in full force.

Oliver played along, "No, but I did spend a _really_ offensive amount of money."

"If you two are done," Roy uttered with narrowed eyes, "I've got a plate of Alfred's cookies with my name on it."

Hal let out a whine. "Damn, Alfred's cookies are the best."

"Yes, they are. And no, I'm not giving you any." Roy stated plainly.

"And I thought I was the one who didn't like sharing." Dinah causally interjected with a sinister twist to her lips.

"You heard that?" Oliver squawked, knowing he was in deep trouble.

Dinah sent a knowing look between Hal and Oliver, able to sense the shift in their dynamic with only a quick glance. "Hmm, I think it's time you boys left for Gotham, Mr Queen and I need to have a few words."

"Whatever you say, Dee." Roy smirked, giving Oliver a sarcastic thumbs-up of encouragement, "Good luck."

"Come on Red, let's blow this joint." Hal replied, quickly wrapping himself, Roy and the stacks of gifts in a blur of green light.

"Now, Oliver, I think it's time we had a talk..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #No one can have a happy childhood because this is DC
> 
> Also, I'm still a terrible person, and this chapter took a darker turn than anticipated. Please let me know if I should add any more warnings or update the rating!
> 
> I hope everyone enjoyed the latest instalment, prepare for more feels - OaXs xx


	5. While I still have breath, my strength will not falter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Relationships were hard. Throw in superpowers, aliens threatening to destroy the world and two people who had the combined emotional maturity of a teenager... Well, Barry and Hal's relationship was doomed before it began.

"Dinah's gonna eat him alive." Roy sniggered. 

The teenager drummed his fingers restlessly against the jet construct's green console, aimlessly watching the ocean pass by 20,000 feet beneath them. Unlike Dick and Wally, for Roy, the fascination of flying in/on one of Hal's constructs had diminished years ago.

"He deserves it." Hal returned, half paying attention to the teenager and half focussed on manoeuvring the construct towards Gotham.

"Definitely." The teen retorted, before turning on Hal with a raised brow. 

" _So_ , where've you been this time? Those two harpies never tell me anything." 

The pilot suspected the previous lack of questions about his recent Lantern exploits was a direct result of Canary's interference, as Hal had expected the interrogation to start as soon as he touched down in Europe. Roy seemed to always be prying for more information about the heroes' ongoing plans and takedowns these days.

While the teen's push for access to more restricted information made some of the League uncomfortable, Dinah believed the change in attitude stemmed from Speedy maturing and wanting to be trusted with more responsibility. It made sense given Roy's frequent complaints about being treated like 'just another sidekick'. 

"Ah, this lovely little hellhole of a system called Venma-five." Hal answered easily.

"Venma-five, huh? Looks like you should've stuck to one through four. What happened to the other guy?" Roy prodded further, motioning at the construct of a shoulder brace.

Hal wasn't overly fond of thinking about 'the other guy'. 

In fact, the pilot actively avoided confronting his memories of the swirling black mass that was no doubt still lurking in a shadowy cave somewhere lightyears away. When those thoughts ultimately fought their way to the surface, he remembered gurgled screams and flashes of light as ownerless rings whizzed through the battlefield on return to Oa. 

Ignoring the twist in his gut, Hal plastered on a fake grin. "It's a real tough bastard, but your ol' Uncle Hal knocked it down a few pegs."

Roy snorted, looking unimpressed and not entirely convinced by the charade. "Got benched? Or..." 

Hal assumed Roy was asking whether he would be back for a while or just a flying visit. " _Temporarily_ benched. There's still plenty of names to take and asses to kick."

"Yeah? Looks like one of those names was Hal Jordan." Roy laughed, but there was a sharpness to it that stopped Hal from automatically retorting. 

The teenager looked conflicted about something, and despite what people (aka Batman) said about him, the Lantern could be patient when he _wanted_ to be. So Hal relaxed and returned his focus on getting the pair to Gotham.

It wasn't exactly a short flight to the States and Roy would speak up when he was ready.

* * *

While it was true that the teenager had a lot on his mind, the Lantern's recent mission wasn't his biggest concern.

Roy's thoughts swirled around Oliver, Hal and Hal's recently deceased brother, as something had clearly happened between them. Something _big_.

The redhead had personally never met the man, but it was well established that there was no lost love between Hal and Jack Jordan. Actually, all of the Lantern's blood relatives were treated as a taboo topic, with any mentions of Hal's 'family' generally made in reference to his hero or Lantern allies.

Although Roy was curious, he respected Hal enough not to push too hard for answers. After all, his self-proclaimed uncle was one of the few Leaguer's who treated Roy like an equal when it came to hero-ing. 

"You were gone for a long time." The teenager stated, and it was the closest 'I missed you' gesture the Lantern would get from him.

Roy continued earnestly, "A lotta shit happened."

Hal was one of the few adults that never bothered chiding the teen about his language (mainly because that would be incredibly hypocritical of him). Still, on any other day, the curses would normally at least draw a smirk from the Lantern. 

Instead, Hal's features warped into a mournful expression, but it was gone in a blink. "Yeah. Mind filling me in on a few things? I think I'm a bit out of the loop."

Roy nodded, moving on without comment. 

"Guess I should start with Jack's accident... After the crash, Barry called Ollie- Oh, an' as far as I know, B only told a few people who know you as _you_ , not -" The teenager paused and gestured towards the green light around them.

"Anyway, Dee was worried about Uncle B. From what I heard, he was pretty worked up about everything - the guy spent hours tryin' to get a message to you, but... Long story short, Dee tried to get Ollie to go to the funeral, and he kind of- well, he went _off_ _the rails_." 

Roy hesitated and looked at Hal sceptically, following up his hunch that there was a deeper reason for the reaction. When Hal's features remained schooled into careful nonchalance, the teenager pursed his lips but ultimately let it drop. 

"Queenie wouldn't explain why he refused to go, so they ended up havin' a big argument about it." 

Hal briefly remembered Ollie's words earlier. _And I promised to never tell a single soul, and I haven't. Not even Dinah._ The Lantern felt a trickle of guilt slide down his spine, settling slowly in his stomach. 

"They never did end up going, but Barry did. Then Wally told me that he started acting strange afterwards - like the guy was nervous all the time or somethin'? I guess he was just on edge a lot." 

Hal frowned, recognising the familiar signs of how Barry acted when he felt overwhelmed. The speedster was too caring for his own good. 

"I didn't see him though, and fleet-feet kept to himself for a while. 'Til maybe about a week later, when Wally called me to complain Uncle B was acting _weirder_. In his words, like the guy was 'drugged up on happy juice'."

It didn't take a forensic scientist to work out that the timing of Barry's sudden flip in attitude coincided with the Lantern's return.

" _Happy juice_?" The pilot asked, his frown turning into a permanent crease on his forehead.

Roy shrugged. "I dunno, just too... cheerful? But in the obnoxiously fake kind of way."

"Anyway, Iris 'parently pinned him down and called him out on it. Uncle B caved 'cause- Well, it's _Iris_. He told her about..." Roy's eyes flicked uneasily at Hal before returning to stare at something in the distance. "Barry said he'd split it off between you... he'd wanted to hold off on saying anything until after Wally's birthday."

Curling his hands into fists, Roy carried on. "Kid-Mouth ended up overhearin' the whole thing - idiot panic ran all the way to Gotham. Dick called me, so then I had to tell Dinah to get her to take me to the manor. That's when Ollie found out."

"And let me guess, Bruce knew all along?" Hal injected, trying to mitigate some of the heavy dreariness that had enveloped them.

Roy scoffed lightly. "Probably."

There was a beat of silence. 

"I'm sorry about..."

Hal tensed, not sure he could pull together any passable semblance of grief for the loss of his brother. Especially after his mini-breakdown with Oliver.

There were a lot of issues Hal refused to deal with at the moment. The death of Jack Jordan was pretty close to the top of that list.

"... you and Uncle B. I hope you neanderthals work things out."

If the glowing jet construct dimmed for a moment, neither of them said anything. Still, it looked like the teenager had found what problem held the number one spot on that list of issues not being handled.

Hal didn't need to fake the lingering grief in his voice when he answered Roy.

"Me too."

Another silence passed between them, the thick air of awkwardness quickly becoming suffocating. Hal ran a hand through his already windswept hair. "Wally's birthday..."

The teenager seemed to readily accept the change in topic.

"It was cool. Bruce bought out an entire laser tag arena, and we even had a round of kids versus adults." Roy said with a genuine smile, and Hal was amazed the seventeen-year-old would allow himself to be classified as a 'kid'. 

The redhead's demeanour shifted as he rolled his eyes. "Dick won by a landslide, but I'm 99% _sure_ he cheated and hacked the system."

Hal barked in laughter, that was definitely something the mini-bat would do. "I'm glad you all had a good day."

Roy grunted in agreement. "We know you would've been there if you could've."

" _Always_."

* * *

Hal loathed flying in Gotham. The air was stale and smoggy, the complete opposite of his beloved Coast City's Californian freshness and warm sunshine. 

It was also a lot of effort to follow Batman's rules on protecting his secret identity as Bruce Wayne. Gotham's white knight had no reason to be paid a visit by Green Lantern on any day of the year, let alone at Christmas. 

As a result, the Lantern either had to quietly land outside of the city's limits and enter Gotham as Hal Jordan or sufficiently conceal his presence before landing on manor grounds.

Hal had no tolerance for the longwinded first option, but keeping up a sophisticated level of camouflage was also draining and required intense concentration. It was made harder still in that trying to visualise 'not being visible' was just generally an awkward concept to wrap his head around. 

It had been his fellow Lantern, Hetara - a Loraxacovian - who had shown him the trick in the first place. During a retreat from a Red Lantern Corps ambush, she managed to make an entire asteroid belt disappear. It was only a trick of the light though, and most of their pursuers crashed into the now invisible 'space-boulders'. 

Never one to be outdone, Hal had spent day's learning how to do it himself.

While he hadn't managed to make an entire asteroid belt disappear _yet_ , he could at least hide himself, Roy and half a shopping mall of presents from sight. 

With a thrum of energy, Hal created a bubble of light outside of the jet, feeding his will into the ring to give the construct shape and power. Once the outer shell was settled, the Lantern let his eyes drift shut as he narrowed in on what he wanted the construct to do. He pictured the construct's surface sucking in and bending the light around it until both the sphere and everything inside it was no longer visible. There was no way for him to check that the camouflage worked, but Hal kept the process of sucking in and bending the light on a loop at the front of his thoughts regardless.

Appreciating it was a tricky manoeuvre, Roy kept still and silent as Hal guided the jet down.

The Lantern assumed from the lack of Batman yelling in his ear to 'turn off the damn light show' things were going as planned. So, Hal was reasonably surprised when he landed behind Wayne Manor and found both Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson waiting for them.

Now they were closer to the ground, the pilot could tell from the reflection in the manor windows - or more accurately, the lack of one - that they were definitely not visible to the naked eye. Somehow though, Bruce seemed to be tracking their descent with scary accuracy.

"Damn spooky Bats." Hal grumbled, letting both his bubble and jet constructs collapse in a flash as he touched down on Bruce's well-manicured lawn.

Roy grunted as his legs got used to the feeling of being back on the Earth's surface, and the stacks of presents that had been stored away were sent sprawling across the ground on impact.

"How nice of you to join us." Bruce remarked flatly, crossing his arms as he eyed up the piles of brightly wrapped boxes with displeasure.

"You're late." Dick said with a pout, not even blinking at the sudden materialisation of the pair. Roy sent a glare in Hal's direction.

"Had to wait for this old-timer." Roy explained. Hal simply rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he created a construct to gather the various gifts into a neon green Santa sack. 

Bruce sent the pilot a look, and Hal poked his tongue out. "Relax, Spooky. It's not like you have neighbours within ten thousand yards of this place anyway."

Before an argument could start between them, Alfred appeared in the doorway. 

"Master Roy, Captain Jordan. A pleasure."

"Hey Alfred." Roy answered with a quick wave, removing one hand from where he had wrestled Dick into a playful chokehold.

"One of these days you're gonna call me Hal, _Staff Sergeant_ Pennyworth." Hal grunted petulantly in response to his airforce title.

"Conceivably so, Master Harold." Alfred replied smoothly, and Hal could _taste_ the sarcasm hiding beneath the man's professional exterior.

Dick practically crooned at the butler's response, parroting it back with glee. "Master _Harold_."

"Yes, Harold, do respect your elders." Roy joined in with a snigger, only to be cut short when a thin green rope wrapped around his ankle and sent him flying backwards. Dick, still in the older boys grasp, fell with him and the pair landed on the ground with a huff.

"Children. All of them." Bruce muttered as he strode back into the manor, but Hal caught the slightest twitch to the man's lips. Bruce had probably stormed off to finish some casework, because Batman never stopped working, even on Christmas day.

"Season's greetings to you too Broodster, you old grinch!" Hal called after him.

"Now young masters, I believe it is past time to head inside. If you would be so kind, please avoid tracking mud through the manor, I have just buffed the floors." Alfred noted, pointedly looking at the pair still rolling around on the damp ground.

With a cackle and a flip, Dick was back up and by the butler's side in a blur. Roy joined him in a less graceful manner, which wasn't hard when being compared to an actual acrobat.

Hal moved to follow but was stopped by a small 'ahem' from Alfred. With an exasperated sigh, Hal reached into the ring to dismiss his Lantern uniform (while keeping the construct bag of gifts intact). 

The ring gave a responding hum of what Hal could only read as disapproval.

Even though the grouchy smurfs back on Oa had assured him it was not conscious, Hal was sure the object had a protective streak that was in no way _not_ sentient. The ring definitely didn't like it when Hal dismissed his suit and the shielding that came with it.

Seemingly satisfied, Alfred strode into the manner, and the pilot followed, making sure to wipe his weatherbeaten combat boots on the mat.

For the second time that day, Hal was struck by the overbearing wealth of some of his hero 'colleagues'. 

"You have more than one tree." The Lantern commented without thought. Hal had already counted three exquisitely decorated Fir trees during their short walk to one of the manor's larger living rooms. Each tree probably cost more than his entire monthly salary.

"An astute observation, Captain." Alfred replied dryly, "There are, in fact, twenty-three Christmas trees inside the manor and fifty-two in total set up on the estate."

The pilot gave a low whistle of appreciation.

"Rich boys and their festivities." Hal joked as he let his construct fade away and the mound of presents inside scattered their way across the floor, only somewhat ending up under the nearby tree. 

The noise pulled the teenagers' attention to them and Dick, who was precariously perched on one arm of the sofa, quickly leapt off the furniture. 

Half a cookie hung shamelessly from the younger boy's lips, and his hair was skewed from his earlier roughhousing with Roy. Still, Hal was happy to see his youngest pseudo-nephew.

"How's my favourite mini-ninja-nephew?" The Lantern asked, ruffling the boy's hair even further.

"Hmm, able to use both my arms - so better than you." Dick ribbed back with a wicked smirk.

"You know... that hurts... right _here_." Hal gasped, pressing his left hand above his heart.

Dick rolled his eyes. "I learned from the best."

"Yeah, _Alfred's_ a great teacher." Roy added snidely.

Hal sighed dramatically. "Ouch. And here I was about to give you my swanky space gifts - now you two can wait 'til I'm back."

" _Back_? You're leaving?" Dick asked sharply.

"Don't get your panties in a twist, wonder boy. It's only a scheduled check-in with the Guardians, to see how they're doing without their star quarterback in the game _yadda yadda yadda_."

The younger teen gave an unhappy harumph, "B didn't mention any check-in."

"That's 'cause he's not a blue alien with a stick up- "

"Captain Jordan," Alfred interrupted, "I was also not aware you would be departing so soon. I had just put another batch of sweets in the oven too."

"I won't be long, keep them warm for me Alfie!" Hal assured as he escaped backwards out of the room.

"Going somewhere, Jordan?" A deep voice asked from the shadows.

"Christ! We have _got_ to get you a bell." Hal exclaimed as he spun to face Bruce.

The billionaire shot the pilot his trademarked 'bat-glare'.

"Scheduled check-in with the Guardians, I'll be back within the hour." The Lantern answered with an eye roll, brushing Bruce off with a dismissive wave.

"Don't rush back on my account."

"Ugh, it's like Sinestro and Atrocitus had a baby and then you grew up with a bat fetish." Hal scowled as he stepped out of the manor, pulling his suit around him with a quick tug of willpower.

Bruce followed him outside. "And don't -"

"I know, I know. Stop nagging me like an old woman." The pilot sniped but nevertheless took a moment to send an additional pulse of energy through his Lantern suit.

Hal could tell the camouflage was working when his reflection in the looming manor windows disappeared once more, which was both equally cool and disturbing. Happy he was no longer visible to the naked eye, the pilot flipped Bruce off as he flew into the sky. The action made him grin with satisfaction.

Not having the reserves to fly across the country to Coast, Hal headed north to Washington and the Hall of Justice.

In truth, the Lantern was still exhausted from months of combat, and the recovery from his injuries was slower going than he'd like. To top it off, the pilot's 'talk' with Oliver earlier and the flying back and forth across the globe had snuffed out what little energy he had left. As a result, his scheduled check-in with the Corps was ignored in favour of a short power nap.

When Hal later woke, he actually felt marginally rested, which was his first red flag.

"Aw _shit_." Hal cursed out loud. 

What was meant to be a short half-hour power nap had turned into him completely passing out for well over two hours.

The Lantern dry swallowed another dose of painkillers to ward off the worst of his discomfort as he suited up and discreetly left his quarters to head for Gotham.

Hal was going to get his ass chewed out for sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry everyone for the delayed update! I didn't have a lot of time over the last couple of weeks to write much, so this chapter was picked up and put down a lot. Still, I hope you enjoyed :0) 
> 
> \- OaXs xx

**Author's Note:**

> I am a terrible person and I'm not even sorry.
> 
> Writing about these two is too much of a good distraction to stop! 
> 
> I hope you enjoy - OaXs xx


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